[Coral-List] Sargassum fluitans proliferation in the Lesser Antilles
Frank Muller-Karger
carib at marine.usf.edu
Thu Aug 11 11:20:23 EDT 2011
Alan -
yes, this is possible.
Frank
______________ FMK ______________
Frank Muller-Karger
Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (IMaRS)
College of Marine Science
University of South Florida
140 7th Ave. South
St Petersburg, FL 33701
Phones:
(727) 553-3335 Office
(727) 553-1186 Lab.
(727) 553-1103 FAX
e-mail/www:
<< carib at marine.usf.edu >>
<< http://imars.marine.usf.edu>>
_________________________________
On Wed, 10 Aug 2011, Alan.e.strong wrote:
> ...and why might it not be possible that the added influence from the
> Orinoco [and its nutrients] might have played a role here enhancing
> overall productivity?
>
> Al
>
> On 8/10/2011 2:08 PM, OMMM Association wrote:
>> Sargassum species here (Sargassum fluitans probably) are actually
>> pelagic sargassum that develop at the surface of the water and are not
>> attached to the substratum. Those algae can bloom in case of critical
>> amount of nutrient inputs, that might be the cause of the amount of
>> algae we ahve today. Another reason might be the global change in the
>> current systems along the Eastern Caribbean that was not as usual as
>> reported by fishermen in the area. But we would be interested in looking
>> at the history of this phenomenon as I started to observe large plates
>> of sargassum by mid May all across the Lesser Antilles. At this time the
>> algae was not accumulating along the coast of the islands.
>>
>> Jean-Philippe
>>
>> ****************************************************
>> Dr Jean-Philippe Maréchal, DSci
>> Director
>> Observatoire du Milieu Marin Martiniquais
>> 3 avenue Condorcet
>> 97200 Fort de France
>> Tel : +33 (5) 96 39 42 16
>> http://www.ommm.org
>>> Alan -
>>> the Orinoco or the rivers are not the source of Sargassum; Sargassum,
>>> when attached to the benthos, gorws in large beds in generally quite
>>> clear water. A lot of it grows in the Caribbean, along the FL keys, etc.
>>> Frank
>>>
>>>
>>> ______________ FMK ______________
>>> Frank Muller-Karger
>>> Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (IMaRS)
>>> College of Marine Science
>>> University of South Florida
>>> 140 7th Ave. South
>>> St Petersburg, FL 33701
>>>
>>> Phones:
>>> (727) 553-3335 Office
>>> (727) 553-1186 Lab.
>>> (727) 553-1103 FAX
>>> e-mail/www:
>>> << carib at marine.usf.edu>>
>>> << http://imars.marine.usf.edu>>
>>> _________________________________
>>>
>>> On Wed, 10 Aug 2011, Alan.e.strong wrote:
>>>
>>>> Isn't this likely to have its origin from the Orinoco River's outflow
>>>> into the area from Venezuela??
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Al
>>>>
>>>> On 8/9/2011 12:30 PM, OMMM Association wrote:
>>>>> Dear all
>>>>>
>>>>> Since May, 2011, a huge amount of pelagic sargassum piles up along the
>>>>> coast of Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles, and might
>>>>> affect probably all the islands in the area.
>>>>> Tons of algae enter the bays and cover the beaches. This
>>>>> accumulation of
>>>>> floating sargassum can also extends at the surface of the water for
>>>>> tens
>>>>> of meters in semi closed area, causing environmental problems to very
>>>>> coastal communities.
>>>>>
>>>>> We have not seen any comments since this began in May. The algae still
>>>>> accumulates and cause management problems for local authorities.
>>>>> This is
>>>>> also the marine turtles' nesting period, what has an incidence on local
>>>>> decision to remove the algae accumulated on the beaches. Those algae
>>>>> decomposed and toxic gaz might be produced, as H2S, which is quite low
>>>>> from the measures that have been done at the moment (0-3 ppm).
>>>>>
>>>>> Is there any information we could share on the origin of this
>>>>> proliferation of pelagic sargassum in the area?
>>>>> Who else in the Lesser Antilles or elsewhere face the same problem?
>>>>>
>>>>> We do airplane survey and fly over the coastal area to detect piles of
>>>>> sargassum away offshore looking at possible trajectories.
>>>>>
>>>>> We are interested in any satellite images that could detect those
>>>>> saragssum.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks
>>>>> Jean-Philippe Maréchal
>>>>>
>>>>> ****************************************************
>>>>> Dr Jean-Philippe Maréchal, DSci
>>>>> Director
>>>>> Observatoire du Milieu Marin Martiniquais
>>>>> 3 avenue Condorcet
>>>>> 97200 Fort de France
>>>>> Tel : +33 (5) 96 39 42 16
>>>>> http://www.ommm.org
>>>>>
>>>>> GDRI "Coral Reef Biodiversity" - CNRS
>>>>> Associate Director
>>>>> http://www.gdri-corail.org
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Coral-List mailing list
>>>>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>>>>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>>> --
>>>> ****<>< *******<>< *******<>< *******<>< *******
>>>> Alan E. Strong, Ph.D.
>>>> NOAA Coral Reef Watch, Consultant
>>>> Strong Research, Inc.& IMSG
>>>> National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
>>>> NOAA Coral Reef Watch Program
>>>> e-mail: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov
>>>> url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov
>>>>
>>>> E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5311 WWB, Room 601-8
>>>> 1335 East West Hwy 5200 Auth Rd
>>>> Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 Camp Springs, MD
>>>> 301-713-2857 x108 301-763-8102
>>>> Fax: 301-713-3136
>>>> Cell: 410-490-6602
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
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>
> --
> ****<>< *******<>< *******<>< *******<>< *******
> Alan E. Strong, Ph.D.
> NOAA Coral Reef Watch, Consultant
> Strong Research, Inc.& IMSG
> National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
> NOAA Coral Reef Watch Program
> e-mail: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov
> url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov
>
> E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5311 WWB, Room 601-8
> 1335 East West Hwy 5200 Auth Rd
> Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 Camp Springs, MD
> 301-713-2857 x108 301-763-8102
> Fax: 301-713-3136
> Cell: 410-490-6602
>
>
>
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